It has recently been appreciated that many bed patients recuperating from operations and extended periods of immobility may experience considerably shorter recovery periods if blood circulation throughout the various extremities of the body, and thus also the torso of the body, is increased. Further, although it was previously known that increased blood circulation would tend to shorten periods of convalescence, exercise of convalescent patients was generally postponed until those patients could arise from their beds and walk about their rooms or along corridors of hospitals and the like. Accordingly, many patients who are physically disabled to the extent that they may not arise from their beds and walk about, but who are otherwise physically able to perform exercise movements, do not obtain the benefits of increased blood circulation attendant with exercise movements until they are ready to arise from their beds. Therefore, a need exists for an exercise apparatus which may be used by bedridden patients to exercise substantially all of the portions of the body that are not immobilized due to injury.
Further, a need exists for an exerciser which may be used during normal rest periods of the user such as when seated in a chair or lying in bed in order to exercise various extremities of the body and thereby increase circulation in those extremities and also within the torso.
Examples of various forms of exercising devices including some of the structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,374,730, 2,830,816, 3,297,320, 3,741,540, 3,814,420, 3,942,791, 4,111,416, 4,253,661 and 4,279,415.